Retell: Lynne Truss presents illustrated examples of how the meaning of a sentence changes when a writer makes poor choices about punctuation.

Topics: punctuation

Units of Study: Any Writing unit

Tribes: personal best

Habits of Mind: thinking and communicating with clarity and precision

My Thoughts: This is the companion to her book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. This book, however doesn’t just focus on commas. When students started to edit their personal narratives during our last Writing unit, I taught a lesson about how writers make important choices about end punctuation (for more fabulous lessons about teaching grammar and punctuation consult The Power of Grammar). I plan on reading this book in a few weeks when I review this concept with students. I hope this inspires students to experiment with punctuation.